Goodbye people. Hello alone time.

by Chloe Webster

Goodbye classrooms. Goodbye cramped (but cozy) chapel. Goodbye new fancy building. Goodbye sports seasons. Goodbye band and choir tour. Goodbye.

I, like most, am shocked. It is a funny feeling to have traditions and normalities stripped away in the matter of a few days. It is a funny feeling to drop everything we are doing: the after school (and before school) practices, the tutoring, the volunteer hours, the piano lessons. It is a funny feeling to experience what seems like a “goodbye” so soon. 

However, these “goodbyes” may not be goodbye for good. All we know is that it is a goodbye for now. Nothing is certain ... and that might be the scariest part. We can make guesses all we want, but as each day brings new recommendations from the government and more postponed or cancelled events, there is no guarantee of how long this will last. 

So we sit. And wait. 

And as we wait for news and cancellations, we must say “goodbye” to the many activities and plans we had. However, amidst the “goodbyes,” there is an opportunity for us to greet this new time of adjustment and adaptation. 

Yes, change is hard. I get it. In fact, the whole world is learning to understand change big time. However, how we welcome the change can determine our time during the change. We can yell and be frustrated, and while that may be healthy for a tiny amount of time, there is only so much anger can do. Our lives just a few weeks ago were so fast and hectic. Now that the fast-forward button has been turned off, look around at what opportunity is there. 

We have the opportunity to say “hello” to slowing down and balancing out our daily lives.

Hello sleeping in. Hello time management skills. Hello patience. Hello free time. Hello writing and reading. Hello Netflix. Hello bed. Hello self-growth. Hello.

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